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Sen. Bennet urges U.S. Congress to add money to protect water from wildfire effects

By Pamela Dickman

Posted:
01/14/2013 05:19:31 PM MST

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, right, takes a tour of the city of Greeley Bellvue Water Treatment Plant with the plant's water and sewer director, Jon Monson, Monday. He visited the plant to talk about work to preserve and protect watersheds that are at risk after the High Park fire last summer.
(Jenny Sparks)

Greeley Mayor Tom Norton holds a sample of water taken from the Poudre River shortly after the High Park fire Monday while visiting with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet during a tour of the city of Greeley Bellvue Water Treatment Plant.
(
Jenny Sparks
)

BELLVUE — U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet picked up a jar of black water taken from the Poudre River just after the High Park Fire and stressed the need for federal money to help protect the river from a repeat every time it rains.

“We went through hell this summer, and the last thing we need is a bunch of floods that turn the river black,” Bennet said referring to wildfires across Colorado in 2012 during a visit to the Greeley-Bellvue Water Treatment Plant on Monday.

Instead, he urged his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to approve $20 million in emergency watershed money for Colorado to help protect water, roads and residents from the increased risk of flooding because of the fires.

“It's going to be a lot more expensive later,” Bennet said.

The Senate passed a bill with $125 million in Emergency Watershed Protection money, including about $20 million for Colorado, in late December, but the House failed to vote before adjourning its session Jan. 2. Now, a new Congress is in session, and Bennet wants them to add the money for Colorado back into a Hurricane Sandy disaster package.

The decision is expected Tuesday.

And while Bennet cannot predict what will happen, he urged local elected officials and residents to contact their U.S. Representatives and plead for money to help with additional protection measures.

“It's frustrating to hear talk about being fiscally responsible, when they're creating a set of circumstances that will be much more expensive,” said Bennet.

Over the summer, wildfires ravaged forests and neighborhoods in Colorado, including the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins. The immediate effects were to send ash and debris rushing into the Poudre River, as is evidenced by the black water shown to Bennet.

While the water has cleared up, every time it rains, water rushes down the barren landscape at a much faster and much higher rate, causing flooding and washing ash and debris into culverts and rivers. This affects the water supply and, as flows and rain increase in the spring, could plug culverts, damage roads and even wash away homes and residents.

Aerial seeding and mulching of the landscape in critical drainages as well as specially constructed devices to catch debris and larger culverts could help reduce that runoff.

“There's a lot of people who live up there,” said Suzanne Bassinger, Larimer County's wildfire recovery manager. “If we reduce the runoff, it will protect the watershed. It also reduces the peak runoff, and there's collateral effects.”

While measures to reduce runoff are costly — Greeley, Fort Collins and the Tri-Districts already spent $4.5 million on immediate mulching and seeding to protect the river — not acting will cost much more, local water officials said.

And an equal amount of work is needed this spring along with federal money to help pay for it, said water and local officials.

“We need to spend the money now and keep that sediment up on the mountain,” said Greeley Mayor Tom Norton. “Don't let it get into the water.”

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